Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger who lived from October 1, 1945, to January 13, 1979. Rolling Stone called him a “soul legend.”
In this particular piece, we would like to learn about his death.
What was Donny Hathaway cause of death?
In 1979, recording sessions for a second duets album were ongoing. With musicians and producers James Mtume and Eric Mercury, a recording session with Hathaway got underway on January 13.
Each stated that although Hathaway was singing perfectly, he suddenly started acting strangely and appeared to be experiencing paranoia and delusions.
Mtume claims that Hathaway claimed that white people were attempting to kill him and had wired his brain to a device in order to take his music and voice. Mercury claimed that in light of Hathaway’s actions, he determined the recording session could not go on, so he called it off and all of the musicians went home.
Hours later, Hathaway’s body was discovered on the sidewalk under the window of his 15th-floor room at the Essex House hotel in New York City. He reportedly leaped off his balcony, according to.
Investigators concluded that Hathaway committed suicide as there were no traces of a fight and the glass had been carefully removed from the window. After learning of his passing, Flack was distraught and decided to include the few duet songs they had completed on their subsequent album, Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway.
“You Are My Heaven,” a song Mercury co-wrote with Stevie Wonder, was included on that album and, in Mercury’s opinion, was Hathaway’s final recording.
